Thread: Question for you honing pros

I wondering about edge smoothness on different stones.


As far as finishing goes what would be my next step in my honing evolution? I have been using my norton 4/8k and finishing with my naniwa 12k.

I always here about coticles Eshers and thuringtons. My spelling on these hones could be off.

Suggestions for my next step for achieving that next level of smoothness?

Originally Posted by krisbarger

Suggestions for my next step for achieving that next level of smoothness?

Experiment.
You have to experience some edges off various natural stones to find out what you like.
You have two ptions:
#1 send a few blades out to be honed on different stones
#2 buy natural stones and try for yourself, that one will be very expensive, #1 will be less so.

I think a very good starting stone is Zulu Gray, so far the reviews put it in the category of the very good finishers and it seems to work on a wide range of steels.

Zulu? New for me. Ill have to find info on it.

Is it natural? Does it have varying degrees of quality or grit? Are there certain inconsistencies I need to watch out for?

Originally Posted by krisbarger

Zulu? New for me. Ill have to find info on it.

Is it natural? Does it have varying degrees of quality or grit? Are there certain inconsistencies I need to watch out for?

http://straightrazorpalace.com/hones...can-hones.html

Originally Posted by krisbarger

I always here about coticles Eshers and thuringtons. My spelling on these homes could be off.

You did that on purpose didn't you?

I've nothing else to contribute.

I feel the importance of the differences in edge qualities produced by the various finishing hones tends to be overestimated here. Any finisher 10K or above creates a great edge in the hands of a proficient honer. After finishing on a hone you will have to strop to get the best out of your razor. Stropping tends to smooth out most of the differences especially if you put a chromium oxide pasted strop between finishing hone and leather only strop. YMMV

Originally Posted by Kees

I feel the importance of the differences in edge qualities produced by the various finishing hones tends to be overestimated here. Any finisher 10K or above creates a great edge in the hands of a proficient honer. After finishing on a hone you will have to strop to get the best out of your razor. Stropping tends to smooth out most of the differences especially if you put a chromium oxide pasted strop between finishing hone and leather only strop. YMMV

I tend to agree with this, although so far I haven't experimented with chromium oxide (or an insane amount of finishers). But then of course there's the discussion of what constitutes as a finisher.

Certainly the next option should be a natural stone. Escher / Thuringian would be a great choice. I've got a Frankonian which is another German waterstone. A JNAT would be another option worth exploring.

chromium oxide

First of all, I don't use pastes. I generally stop with my 12K Naniwa SS and strop 100 laps, getting fine shaves. I also have a Zulu Grey and finally gave it a try after the 12K. The result does seem to be better, perhaps not importantly better but clearly sharper. It takes me a minimum of 150 laps on it to get a difference, but the difference is enough that I would continue to use it. I'm considering taking my other shave ready blades to it to see if they develop improvement as well. On the other hand, the 12K shaves were fine in their own right.